


Unspoken Boundaries

by orochiis



Series: Gunpowder and White Gloves [2]
Category: Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood & Manga
Genre: Drunk characters, F/M, Mentions of other characters - Freeform, Royai - Freeform, illegal relationships
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-05-10
Updated: 2016-04-12
Packaged: 2018-03-29 22:03:23
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 12
Words: 16,730
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3912256
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orochiis/pseuds/orochiis
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Now in the military, Roy and Riza have plenty of time to figure out what they are.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Ishval

**Author's Note:**

> yooooo here we are!!! this one's pretty emotional like the last one ;u;

Golden sand blew across the camp, sticking in everyone’s hair, eyes and noses.  The stench of human decay was strong in the air. The sun was beating down on the soldiers of the Amestrian Military, making every single person annoyed and tired.

Roy Mustang stood away from the camp, singling himself out to any Ishvalan snipers. He could die, any second; he had no idea where they are. But, after three full years fighting out there, killing people with his alchemy, he couldn’t care less. He wanted to die.

 Maes Hughes rescued him from the imminent death he assumed he was receiving. Not by making him go back, but by standing. This was a war; but the people of Ishval wouldn’t kill people unless they had to. Roy was a prime target: a State Alchemist, someone who had killed more people than he would’ve liked. Hughes was only in intelligence- they wouldn’t shoot, incase they missed.

“Why are you here, Hughes?”  
  
“I’m rescuing your ass. Didn’t you know that there are snipers everywhere out here?”  
  
“I’m trying to die, so if you’d please leave me, I’ll be able to do so in peace.”  
  
“You can’t die here, Roy. Don’t you have a girl back home?”  
  
“Not really. She wouldn’t want to date a murderer anyway, even if she hadn’t forgotten about me.”  
  
“Well, I got a letter from Gracia today! Isn’t she beautiful!”

‘You know, Hughes, soldiers who harp on about their girls are the ones who don’t make it home. And I’ll personally see to that, if you don’t shut up.”

 The two men stood in silence, staring out over the vast expanse of sand. The sun was setting, casting it’s warm glow over the military camp.

“So, have you given up on dying?”  
  
“It’s not happening today, anyway. Maybe I’ll ask someone else for a gun and do it myself.”  
  
Roy started to walk back to the camp, but Hughes stopped him with a simple command: “Drop.”

Roy hit the sand, getting more in his mouth than he would’ve liked. He didn’t see anything when he lifted his head, but heard a scream from just outside the perimeters of the camp.

“What was that for?”  
  
“Ishvalans in the camp. Snipers out here can shoot them. We just can’t risk you, our beloved Flame Alchemist, dying.”  
  
“Who can see that though? There’s no one around here.”  
  
“I wouldn’t be so sure. We have the Hawk’s Eye on our side. An unknown soldier that’s not even finished with training. Rumour has it that they’re so good that they were shipped out here without even a proper ranking.” 

Roy’s eyes widened at the name. _It couldn’t be her. She hated the military! Besides, she was working in the bookshop before I left. I’m sure there are a lot of people with the surname Hawkeye._ Roy attempted to reassure himself, coming to the conclusion that she would’ve told him if she had any plans to join the military.

“Do you know anything about this sniper? Are they male or female? Age? Name? Height? Appearance?”

“Like I said, they’re unknown.” Hughes shrugged. “But thank god we’ve got them on our side. They’re probably the best sniper Amestris has ever had.”  
  
A gust of wind fluttering clothes indicated to Roy and Hughes that someone had come up behind them. Roy spun around, hand poised to attack, but Hughes stopped him, arm blocking his way.  
  
“Wait.”  
  
The person had a gun slung over their shoulder, cloak hood pulled up to protect their eyes from the sand. Slender fingers moved from the pockets of the cloak to pull down the hood of the cloak. Cropped blonde hair and dead brown eyes stared out at Roy from the cloaked assailant.

“Hello, Mister Mustang. Or maybe, I should say Major Mustang? Long time no see. Do you remember me?” Riza Hawkeye shook her hair, allowing it to sit the way it usually had.

Roy couldn’t talk. His mouth wouldn’t even open, not even if he wanted it to. He simply stared at her, eyes sad, face weary. Hughes looked frantically between the two, looking for connections.

“Do you know this woman?”

“She’s the Hawk’s Eye.”     

* * *

 

Roy found a vacant building in the outskirts of the town, instructing Riza to follow him. He was her superior, and she had no choice but to do as he said. He kindly asked Hughes to come with him, who agreed, and quietly stood outside while Roy took Riza inside.

“Why are you here?” He asked, slipping his cloth gloves off and putting them into his pockets.

“I had to join. They told us to enlist, as we would be helping our country. My grandfather insisted on it. But by the time I got out here, they had changed from a war to an extermination. It’s too late to do anything about it now.” 

“So, you’re a sniper. It’s not what I would’ve expected from you.”

“And we’re both mass murderers. Not what I would’ve expected either.” She smiled dryly. It was the unfortunate truth.

Roy hung his head in shame, glaring at the dirty floor below his feet. Without another word, he turned, leaving the building and motioning with his head to Hughes to leave the area.

 

* * *

 

The war ended after seven long years of bloodshed. Roy had seen more friends die than he would’ve liked. Countless soldiers and civilians died, and unless they were high up in the military, they weren’t given a proper funeral at all.

 Riza Hawkeye didn’t like this, and insisted on burying an Ishvalan child. The trains were set to leave, packed with the surviving soldiers, but she refused to get on one. Roy followed her with a heavy heart.

She was, indeed, burying a child. She had covered him with the sand, plucking a flower from the railway and setting it on top.

“We have to go.” Riza turned around, to see Roy standing behind her. His eyes were tired, and he generally looked the way she felt.

“Roy. I have to ask you a favour before we go.”  
  
“Make it quick.”  
  
“My tattoo. I want you to burn my tattoo off.”  
  
“But... Riza, you can’t-“  
  
“Please.  There can’t be any more flame alchemists. We’ve caused enough damage here. If there were more than one person with knowledge of Flame Alchemy, the world would be a dangerous place.”  
  
Roy didn’t answer her.

“Roy. You owe me this much. Make it look like an accident.”  
  
He still didn’t answer, simply closing his eyes and holding his gloved hand out in front of him. She turned around, back to him.   
  
“Straight ahead.”  
  
He moved his hand, fingers a blur as he made flames appear on his fingertips. The flames shot towards Riza’s back, burning through her uniform and then her skin. She didn’t even scream when the flames licked against her bare skin- nerves damaged, she couldn’t feel a thing.

She collapsed on the ground, and he immediately rushed over to help her up. He threw one of her arms around his shoulder, supporting her with both his arms, and helped her limp back to the train station.  
  
There was a hurried explanation about burning bodies, and Hawkeye being caught up in the blaze, and she was given immediate medical attention, carted off to the other end of the train. Roy was instructed to sit with the other state alchemists, and he stared at his knees in silence all of the way back to Central.


	2. Office

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Riza meets Team Mustang.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm very very sorry this is so late!! I haven't been able to get to my computer for a few weeks. I'm participating in Royai Week on tumblr this week, so you should check that out! My tumblr is firstladyrizahawkeye

“So. You’ve decided to pursue this path, even after all you went through in Ishval?” Roy leaned across his desk; hands knitted together, head resting on top of them.

“Yes, Sir.” Riza hovered in front of the desk, arms held tight at her sides.

“I commend your bravery. Not many would choose to continue this path after what had happened,” Roy commented, “but I can trust you. I’m hereby appointing you as my assistant. I want you protect my back. And of course, that means you can shoot me in the back if I stray from my path.”  
  
“Sir.” She jumps into a salute, clicking her heels together and snapping her hand to her forehead.

And thus began Riza Hawkeye’s life in the military. She was hastily promoted to 2nd Lieutenant, and positioned in Eastern Command, which was conveniently under her grandfather’s control. He had done this on purpose, she could tell. She was consigned to years of paperwork, along with a team that hated to do it.

Roy already had a team, she discovered. There was Jean Havoc, a chain smoker who was almost as lazy as Roy. Vato Falman, an older man who had been in the military for longer than he would care to admit. Heymans Breda, who seemed lazy, but was actually of high intelligence. And finally, Kain Fuery, a tech expert and the only person younger than her. He hadn’t fought in Ishval, and was fresh out of the academy. Apparently, Mustang had specifically requested him on the team.

On her first day actually working in the office, she was greeted by the men lining up in front of the door. They were saluting at first, but suddenly dropped their hands when they saw her.

“Are you lost?” One asked, who she later found out was 2nd Lieutenant Havoc.

“Yeah, this is Colonel Mustang’s office. Were you looking for the break room?” This time, it was Breda who spoke up.

Instead of answering them directly, she snapped into a salute, eyes cold, staring straight into their eyes.

“Second Lieutenant Riza Hawkeye, reporting for duty.”

The men stared at her for a second, almost confused, before registering who she was, and returning her salute.

“When we were told about the arrival of a new Lieutenant, I kinda assumed that they would be male. And we were just told ‘2nd Lieutenant Hawkeye’, not Riza. So, it’s very nice to meet you!” The smallest of the men stepped forward. “My name is Kain Fuery. It’s a pleasure to meet you!” He seemed almost scared by her.

She was introduced to each of the men in turn, who then pointed out her desk. They settled down, and started talking to each other. Riza didn’t really know what to do; she hadn’t been told what her orders were by anyone. She sat back in her chair, taking the few moments she had to relax. The air still seemed tense; clearly they still felt bad about assuming she would be male. She glanced up at the clock. 9:26. Surely Mustang should’ve arrived by now? She coughed quietly, hoping to get the attention of the others. They all looked at her incredulously, as if they had never heard someone cough before.

 “Sorry, but where is the Colonel?”

They stared at her again, before bursting out laughing.

“The Colonel is always late. I mean, every day.  I don’t think I’ve ever seen a day where he’s been on time, not even once,” Havoc explained, elbows balanced on the desk edge.

“We kinda refuse to do work until he gets here. He was probably out late last night. He likes to drink, and he probably brought some girl home with him,” Breda elaborated, taking a sandwich out from the desk drawer.

So that’s how it was. She didn’t really expect him to still have any interest in her, but it hurt to hear them talk about his love life so openly. She wasn’t expecting that at all. 

“Ah.” She felt like she needed to say something to show she understood. Riza bowed her head slightly, staring down at the wooden desk. And that’s when she decided to change. She was no longer going to be the teenage girl who snuck Roy Mustang food, who cried in his arms when he left for the military, who was constantly overshadowed by her father. She refused to let him rule her life anymore. She would be her own person, and she wouldn’t put up with anyone’s shit.

Colonel Mustang waltzed into the room at 9:55, arms filled with paperwork, half of which which he threw at his subordinates, the other half flying onto his desk. He sat down, heading up the room. Each seat was now filled.

“I assume you’ve met Hawkeye?” He directed this question with a raised eyebrow, clearly knowing about their gender assumptions. They didn’t answer him, sheepishly looking at each other, not looking up the room at their commanding officer.

“Well, time to get on with work. Lieutenant, just read through those papers, sign ones which just need a signature, and then hand the rest up to me.”

  
“Yes, Sir.”  
  
Riza had joined the military to help people. She though there would be more training, more physical combat, and less reading paperwork about requests for a farm outside Xenotime. She was pleased when she could sign off the paperwork herself, as she quickly realised that Mustang was a slacker. She had hoped he’s changed from when she’d first met him, but his ability to get things done was still as awful as before. He always wanted things done, but didn’t ever want to do them himself.

Mustang got up at a little past twelve, announcing that it was time for lunch. He practically ran out of the room, and the other men gradually got up to leave. They were almost out the door, when Havoc turned back to Riza.   
  
“Aren’t you coming?” He asked, as if it was a given that she would go with them. She nodded, leaving the paperwork neatly, and heading towards the door. They showed her to the cafeteria, where they invited her to sit with them. She was given a bowl of soup, had bread thrown at her, and pushed onto the seat. 

“So,” Havoc asked her, managing to talk through mouthfuls of soup, “Mustang only picks people for his team who he thinks have ‘outstanding potential’. What’s your secret talent, then?”

“I wouldn’t really say I have a secret talent. My talent is more well known.” She felt flustered with all eyes on her. “I’m a sniper. Guns are my specialty, I suppose.”  
  
“Wait, you’re not that sniper that went out to Ishval before finishing training, are you?” Falman asked.  
  
“Uh… yes. That was me.”  
  
“They called her the Hawk’s Eye, because she was so good. She could hit targets from nearly three hundred meters away,” Breda explained to Fuery, who gazed at her almost fearfully.

“I don’t think that’s quite true.” She laughed their comments off, and silently ate her lunch while they discussed her shooting abilities.

 “Yo, Hawkeye. Just a heads up, the colonel never joins us for lunch. He’s probably playing chess with Grumman.” Breda seemed to be full of pointless information, but this seemed to be one of the more important ‘facts’ he spewed.

“He’s friendly with Grumman?” She asked, placing her soup spoon in the middle of the bowl.  
  
“Oh yeah. They meet almost every day to play chess.”  
   
“Wait, how do you know Grumman? You’ve only been here a few hours, you can’t have met him already, can you?”  
  
“I met Grumman a long time ago. A long time being… well, probably the day I was born.”  
  
“You’re related?!” The rest of the team seemed shocked by this news.

“He’s my grandfather, on my mother’s side. I haven’t seen him since I was about thirteen though. That’s when he was transferred out to Eastern Command, and that’s quite far away from where I grew up.”

The rest of the team didn’t find this as interesting as they had immediately assumed it would be. Riza and the others left their seats, reluctantly heading back to the office.

* * *

 

“You lose again.”  
  
“I don’t think I’ll ever win, General.” Roy set his chess pieces upright again, letting General Grumman clear them up.

“Now that I think about it, you finally have enough members in your team for each of the chess pieces.”  
  
“I’ve been hoping for this for a while. I’ve needed someone to be my queen, and I think Lieutenant Hawkeye is the right person for the job.”

“We have the pawn, Sergeant Fuery. The Rook, Second Lieutenant Breda. The Bishop, Warrant Officer Falman. The Knight, Second Lieutenant Havoc. The Queen, Second Lieutenant Hawkeye. And the King. That’s me.”  
  
“It sounds as though you’ve been planning this out for a while. I’m sure my granddaughter will do a good job as your adjutant. She’s a very capable girl.” Grumman chuckled, staring at Mustang’s shocked expression through his glasses.

“Wait, you don’t mean-“

“Yes, dear boy. I do.”


	3. Wedding

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Roy, Riza and the rest of the gang are forced to endure Hughes's wedding.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this seemed like a good idea when I came up with it but it didn't quite turn out the way I had hoped. oh well, here you go!

A pink envelope landed on Riza’s doormat, her name squiggled on the front in almost unreadable calligraphy. She opened it carefully, not wanting to ruin the paper inside. It turned out to be a wedding invitation, demanding her presence at Hughes’s wedding to Gracia, a woman who constantly seemed to be inviting her over for dinner.

She responded to the invitation by the end of the day, filling out what she wanted for dinner, and handing it to Hughes in person to save the money for the postage stamp.

The whole office was buzzing, talking about the event. Mustang seemed the most excited for the event; after all, he was being the best man. All of the team had been invited, and were specifically told that they would be sitting the front row of the church, as Hughes’s ‘best friends’, even though most of them had only spoken to him once.

The big day came six weeks later, and true to his word, Hughes had Mustang’s unit seated in the front row. Riza was picked up at her house by the others, despite her many protests that she would just walk down to the church. She was pleasantly surprised by the fact that they were wearing suits, despite this being a military wedding. She herself was specifically told to wear a dress, and had found a knee length one in a second hand shop. It was perfect for a spring wedding, as all her female colleagues told her on the way in.

The ceremony itself was quick, and Riza and the others were glad to get to dinner. A wedding starting at three in the afternoon was unusual, but they were all grateful of it when it meant they only had an hour and a half to wait before dinner. Champagne glasses were passed around, and conversation started up quickly between the guests. Mustang left the groom, and made his way over to his team.  
  
“He’s being so boring. All he’s talked about all day is how much he loves Gracia. You can only take so much of that before you snap.” Mustang grabbed a glass from a passing waiter, downing it in one go. “This is gonna be a long day, I tell you. I told him he’s not allowed to make any speeches at dinner. We would be here until next year.”  
  
The dinner came, plates of fancy food laid out on tables, small talk passed around about how lovely the bride was, what a good day it was for a wedding, how nice the food was. Mustang made his speech, and silenced Hughes when he tried to make one. There was a toast to the couple, and the cake was cut, and then a small country band came in to play.

The team stayed at the table, not particularly wanting to get up and dance like the other guests. Riza leaned on the table, head balanced in her hands to make it look like she was still paying attention. Mustang collapsed into the seat between her and Falman, glaring at the newly married couple.

 “They’re so gross. I’ve never seen anyone kiss as much in the space of twenty minutes in my life. And I’m pretty sure they were playing footsie under the table. They’re literally like teenagers.”

  
“You should stop complaining Colonel, and get a drink. It’s open bar!” Havoc leaned across the table, poking him in the arm. Clearly, he was quite drunk.“Is it? Hughes said earlier it was first drink free.”

  
Havoc glanced down at the table, covered in empty glasses, not just from him, but from the rest of the team.

“If we all leave now, I doubt they’ll notice.”  
  
“I’d like to leave, actually. There’s only so much a man can take of that.” He gestured to Gracia and Hughes, still dancing after all this time.

 “We should go to the bar. You know, that good one not to far from here?” Breda suggested, standing up and putting his suit jacket on. 

  
“I have a better idea. My place for drinks?”

The men agreed, leaving the table and heading for the door. Riza followed suit, though she had no plans of going with them. She wanted to go home, maybe take a bath before bed. But she didn’t even get these thoughts out her mouth, as she was shoved into the back of Falman’s car, and was merely an onlooker as a slightly inebriated Mustang shouted directions at poor Falman.

Mustang’s apartment was almost empty, apart from a sofa and armchair in the living room. The cupboards were not empty; in fact, Riza had never seen half of the bottles in her life, and Mustang didn’t even to know what they were.

He lined glasses up on the counter; six of them, filled them up full of some kind of vodka, handing them to each of his subordinates. Falman declined his, mumbling something about ‘designated driver’, but everyone else downed theirs in one go. They left the glasses on the table, and Mustang found a bottle of wine at the back of the cupboard to open. Five glasses were poured again, and this time they were consumed slowly. The team made their way to the sofa, were Havoc, Fuery and Riza perched on the sofa, Breda and Falman sat on the floor, and Mustang took the armchair.

“Can I just say, Hawkeye, you looked lovely today.”   
  
“Sir, I don’t think that kind of behaviour is appropriate.” She glared at him, and there were some nervous giggles from Fuery beside her.

“Who cares? We’re not in work anymore.” His voice was slurred, and she rolled her eyes in his direction.

 “Well, he’s not wrong. I didn’t really take you for a dress person, Lieutenant.” Falman interjected, breaking the tense atmosphere.

“I don’t just wear my uniform out of work, you know. I do own other clothes.” She seemed irritated now, and knowing she was just spoiling the mood, she downed the rest of her wine, picked up her bag, and headed towards the door.

“I’m going to go. I want as early a night as possible.”   
  
“Do you want-“ Falman started, but she interrupted him.  
  
“No. I’ll walk. I can look after myself.”   
  
She left after a chorus of goodnights from the others, stalking down the hallway and out into the night.

 

* * *

 

 

"We should finish our drinks,” Mustang observed the glasses on the table, glaring at the table, at the empty glass in front of where Riza had been sitting. He picked his own glass up, downing it, before pouring himself another glass of vodka. The others stared at him sadly, finishing their own wine, and watching him pass out on the seat, arms folded, glare still evident on his face.

 “Do you think we could go look for food?” Breda asked, and he and Havoc raided the kitchen for snacks.

 “I can’t believe he actually has no food. He must really lead a sad life.” Havoc complained, leaning against the counter.

 “Hey, we haven’t checked this drawer yet. Don’t give up hope yet.” Breda opened the drawer, hoping for some miracle. But the drawer was filled with paperwork, with a photograph slid between the pages.

  
“Havoc, come and look at this.” He held the photo up.

“Is that Mustang when he was younger?”  
  
“I guess so. It looks like him. But, who’s the girl? She doesn’t look much older than fifteen here, right?”

 “Wait, is that Hawkeye?” Havoc grabbed the picture, bringing it closer to his face. “It is! That’s definitely Hawkeye!”

  
“How long have them two known each other then?”  
  
The two looked over at the asleep colonel, wondering what secrets he was hiding about his adjutant.

 


	4. Prodigy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Roy and Riza visit Resembool for the first time

Colonel Mustang walked into the office, on time for once in his life. He set the stack of paperwork on his desk, before standing in front of it, rather than taking his seat as he usually did.

“Tomorrow, I am taking Lieutenant Hawkeye to Resembool with me to help me with recruitment for the Sate Alchemist Program. Apparently, there is a talented alchemist in that town, and I have been asked by the higher-ups to convince him to join us.” There was some muttering, and smirks were passed between the team about Mustang’s choice of travel partner. 

“It would’ve been nice if you had informed me before hand, Colonel,” Hawkeye answered, not lifting her head from the paperwork, “What if I was busy? Tomorrow could’ve been my day off.”  
  
“It’s not though. I checked.”  
  
“Of course you did.”  
  
“Well, that’s beside the point. This alchemist is well known in the country side around Resembool, so hopefully he’ll be as good as his reputation.”

 

* * *

 

The colonel was late to the train station, despite Riza’s memo left on top of his paperwork to make sure he got up early. He arrived just two minutes before the train was due to depart, and hastily apologized to a less than impressed Hawkeye.

“I tried to be early, but I got lost on the way here, and then there were no car parking spaces, and-“  
  
“Save your breath, colonel. You overslept again, didn’t you?” Hawkeye turned her head slightly, raising an eyebrow at him. His lack of response confirmed what she thought to be true. “You should try to sleep more now, sir. It’ll be at least two hours until we arrive in Resembool.”  
  
“You’re right. Wake me up when we get there, okay.” With a nod of approval from Riza, Roy leaned his head back on the plush seat covering, closing his eyes. Riza fished a book out of her bag, and rested it on the table separating the two.

The countryside flashed by the train window, but neither of the two saw it, both absorbed in their own separate world. Roy was asleep, and often made annoyed noises that made Riza look up from her book. Time seemed to pass quickly, and soon the sun disappeared behind a cloud, and the rain started to fall, splashing the window with cold droplets. 

The train pulled up in Resembool Station, and Riza kicked her superior officer under the table to wake him up.

“We’re here.”

The two departed the train, falling into the station at great speed to avoid the rain. They asked the porter directions to the Elric Household, and he sadly pointed at a small cottage in the distance, about a mile from the station. Roy glared over the hill.  
  
“Why do we have to walk? What sort of backwards place is this, having their houses all spread out?”  
  
“I wouldn’t complain sir. It could be worse. There could’ve not been a train station, and we would’ve had to walk further.”  
  
“I suppose you’re right.”  
  
The two walked in silence, bright blue uniforms sticking out among the lush green of the countryside house. The walk seemed to take forever, and with the Colonel walking as slowly as possible, it would take forever.

“What are you going to say to him?”  
  
“I don’t know. I’ve found out since yesterday that there are two of them; brothers. I’ll probably say what I said to your father on the matter- you can get grants for your research, etc., etc.”

 “Well, let’s hope they’ll listen to you, unlike someone. Although, I think your speech may have been poorly timed, since he was on his death bed.”

  
Riza knocked on the door of the small house, and waited for a minute. No response. She knocked again.  
  
“Do you think they’re out? Maybe we should call back later.”  
  
“No. Something’s not right here.” Mustang crouched down, picking at some sort of gooey substance beside the door. “Blood. Did you not notice the trail going back along the road? Something has happened here. And I’m not sure I want to know what happened to the Elric brothers if there’s blood leading away from their house. Go around back. I’m sure there’s a back door. Check through there. I’ll go in here.”  
  
“Sir!” Riza snapped into a salute, before calmly walking around to the back of the house.

Roy kicked the door, and it opened with ease. The house seemed to be fairly normal on the inside. The front door led through to a living room, with a table and chairs at one end. Everything seemed okay, apart from the large plastic bags tucked behind the door. One was semi filled with limestone, and the rest were almost empty. Roy headed upstairs, peering in all the rooms for any sign of the brothers. He heard Riza enter the house downstairs, and presumed she was checking out the kitchen.  
  
After looking in all the rooms upstairs, he headed down the stairs again, meeting up with Riza in the living room.  
  
“They’re not out back either, sir. However, there is an outhouse of some kind which you may want to look at.”  
  
“Alright. Lieutenant, thoroughly check the garden. They may have gotten word of our arrival and ran.”

The two headed out into the garden, Roy walking swiftly towards the outhouse. He swung the door open, and immediately his eyes were drawn to the calked out circle, and the pool of blood on the floor. Among this mess, there was a semi-humanoid form, thankfully not moving.

 “They weren’t out there either, sir… what is this?!” Riza’s hands immediately went to her mouth and nose, blocking the smell from the blood.

“Human transmutation…”  
  
“Isn’t that illegal?”  
  
“Yes. These brothers have done something awful. We’re going to have to arrest them, if they’re even still alive.”

* * *

The pair ran to the nearest house, and Riza was surprised to see Roy making such an effort. He banged on the door, staring down at the decking.

  
“More blood. They’re here, alright.” Roy ran a hand through his soaking wet hair, tapping his foot impatiently. A dog barked inside, and the door was soon opened. Roy barged his way inside, much to the annoyance of the house owner. Riza mouthed ‘sorry’ to the woman, who merely made a face.

“What have you done?!” He asked, storming towards the two brothers. He paused as he got to them, realizing that one was in a wheel hair, missing an arm and a leg, and the other was a suit of armour. The boy in the wheelchair couldn’t have been older than twelve, his eyes dead and tired.

Roy apologized to the woman whose house he was invading, asking if there was somewhere he could take the boys to talk to them. She motioned at a side room, where he held the door open for the brothers. Riza knew it wasn’t her place to intrude, so she sat in an armchair at the end of the room, staring at her knees. She wasn’t sure how this would be dealt with- clearly the kids were talented alchemists, and she hoped that Roy could knock some sense into them. A small hand pulled at her sleeve, and she looked down to see a girl who must’ve been the same age as the boys, carrying a tea tray.  
  
“What’s your name?” She asked, holding the tray out.

“I’m Riza. Nice to meet you. What’s your name?”  
  
“Winry,” she paused. “Did you know the doctors Rockbell?” 

“I did, yes. They were excellent doctors.”  
  
“They were my parents.” She looked down at her knees, and Riza put a comforting hand on her shoulder.

“I’m sorry for your loss. Your mother and father saved a lot of people in Ishval. They’ll be missed by many.” Winry was silent again for a moment, and in this moment the two could hear Roy’s voice from the other room.  
  
“Miss Riza? Why did you join the military?” The young girl looked genuinely curious, looking up at her with big blue eyes. Riza thought about this for a moment. Did she give her the honest answer, or an answer she’d want to hear?

“Because there’s someone I need to protect.” At this, Roy entered the room, and the Elric brothers followed soon after. Riza jumped to her feet, and at Roy’s signal, followed him to the door.

“I apologize for intruding so rudely, and I thank you for your hospitality.” He bowed his head slightly, before leaving the house. Riza nodded at the boys, and smiled at Winry, before following him out.  
  
“How’d it go?”  
  
“The older one says he’ll do it. Edward Elric, his name is. I’ll have to file a report on this though. Come on. We have work to do.”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ive been at a con all weekend and im exhausted so this hasn't been properly edited


	5. Elizabeth

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Roy sneaks Riza into the Military Ball.

Posters were pasted around Central Command, a letter posted to each member of the Amestrian military, and flyers set on each of their desks. It was almost time for the fanciest event in central: the Autumn Festival. It was a military run event, involving a few days of harvest celebrations culminating in the Autumn Ball.

Mustang's office was buzzing with excitement for weeks before the event. Suits were hired, dates found, invitations sent back. The event was coming up quickly, but the men in the office had one problem: Riza.

"I'm not going."

"Why? Come on, it'll be fun!" Fuery complained, annoyed by the fact that she wouldn't be appearing.

"Balls aren't really my thing. I'd prefer to stay in the house with Hayate and a cup of tea." 

"You're obsessed with that dog. Are you really saying you'd rather look after him than go out?"

"Yes, I am. He's important."

"Well, I suppose I can't stop you from staying in."

"Have fun, Fuery. Do you have a date?"

"I asked one of the girls from the florist..." He looked at his knees, almost ashamed by this.

“I hope you have a good time with her.”  
  
“I think most of the others have dates as well. Falman’s bringing his wife, I guess, and Breda’s taking some girl he met at the bar. The colonel’s bringing Elizabeth with him, so I guess we’ll finally get to meet her.”  
  
“He talks about her a lot, doesn’t he? I’m sure she’s lovely.” Riza smiled, more to herself than to Fuery.

“It’ll be weird without you there, though. It’s like… an incomplete team or something.”  
  
“Don’t worry. I’m sure you’ll be fine.” Riza glanced up at the clock. “I best be going. I don’t want to be here while you’re all getting ready for tonight, I’ll just be in the road.” She stood up, lifting her bag and shoving some of the leftover paperwork into it.  
  
“But it’s only four o’clock. You don’t have to go yet.”  
  
“Breda and Havoc are due back any time now, and the Colonel get’s back from his meeting at half past. It’s probably best I go.” She headed towards the door, turning back to see Fuery’s crestfallen face. “Enjoy yourself tonight.”  


* * *

 

In truth, Riza was leaving early because she had to get ready. Not everything she had said was a lie: balls _weren’t_ really her thing. But Roy had asked her, and since he was her superior officer, and it was practically an order, she had no choice. She was told to disguise herself the best she could, and this was something she could definitely get behind. If anyone higher up in the military found out about their relationship, they would probably be court martialed immediately, even though anything that _had_ actually happened had happened before they joined the military.

Riza picked out a floor length black dress, with a slit up to the thigh so she could still get easy access to her gun. She showered, washing her hair clean, and left it to dry naturally so it retained some of its natural wave. She then she coated her face in makeup, painting her eyelids a dark purple, and covering her eyelashes in dark mascara. Lipstick and high heels were essential as well, and when she looked in the mirror, she was glad to say she almost didn’t recognise herself.

A knock came to the door at almost five minutes to seven, and Hayate barked happily to let Riza know of the guest. She petted his head on the way out the door, grabbing a jacket to meet her date outside.

Roy stood waiting for her, dressed up in his usual suit and tie.

“You look amazing.” He went to kiss her cheek, but stopped short, pretending to wave at Hayate instead. He remembered about the unspoken boundaries between them, and had to stop himself from going beyond what she would’ve wanted.

 “You don’t look to bad yourself,” she replied, elbowing him in the stomach. “We should go. I heard the others are dying to meet Elizabeth.”

He held the car door open for her, and she sat down, waiting for him to get around the other side to start driving. The car ride wasn’t long at all; in fact, Riza wondered why he bothered bringing the car in the first place.

They arrived to the ball, and Mustang scooted ‘Elizabeth’ passed all the Generals and the Fuhrer himself, down to where his team were sitting. He pulled out a chair for her, and she gratefully took it. He sat beside her, and finally she was introduced to the team.  
  
“Everyone, this is Elizabeth. We’ve known each other for quite a while.”

There was a lot of nodding, and fond smiles from the other’s dates. Riza had to pitch her voice up a bit to speak.

“It’s nice to meet you all.” She shook hands with everyone, offering them warm smiles in place of her usual no nonsense glare. After the quickest of introductions, Roy swept her up, dragging her towards the dance floor. They assumed their usual dancing position, the same one as they had danced in all that time ago.

* * *

 

“She’s pretty, isn’t she?” Havoc whispered to Breda.  
  
“Yep. I’m pretty sure I’ve heard the colonel talking about her before.”

“He looks really happy though. Good for him. I didn’t think he could keep a steady girlfriend.”  
  
The music changed, the orchestra playing a slower song. The couple moved their arms, Riza’s wrapped around Roy’s neck, and his around her waist. They were barely moving, simply looking into each other eyes while shifting from foot to foot.

“I didn’t know he could dance,” Breda hissed into Havoc’s ear.

 “They’re barely dancing. Will you stop watching them, though? It’s weird. Besides, do you not have you own date?”

“She’s off somewhere, getting drinks.”  
  
“So I am literally the only person without a date.”  
  
“Yep. Sorry, mate.”  
  
Breda patted Havoc on the shoulder, before going to find the girl he had brought with him. Roy brought ‘Elizabeth’ back to sit down again, and they kept Havoc company while everyone else was dancing.

“So, Elizabeth, where do you work? Anywhere I would know?” Havoc asked, clearly trying to flirt with her. She giggled slightly, and Roy smirked at the question.

“I live in a small town a few hours from Central. I work in a bookshop.” She chose the safe option; at least if he asked more questions, she would be able to answer them.

“Nice. I didn’t know you were into bookworms, Colonel.”  
  
“Havoc, my personal life is none of your business.”  
  
“Alright, alright. Anyway, can I ask your date for a dance, sir?”  
  
“I’d rather not, sorry. But how about you go get us all drinks?” Havoc looked slightly dejected at this suggestion, but went off anyway, heading to the bar at the other end of the room.  
  
“Why didn’t you take him up on his offer? I’m sure he’s a pretty good dancer.”  
  
“Dancing with Havoc would be weird, sir.”  



	6. Problems

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Roy makes things complicated.

As much as Riza enjoyed working in the military, there was one thing that really got on her nerves. She was practically a baby sitter, not a soldier. She had to look after Roy, and constantly seemed to be reminding him to do his work. And now that the Elric brothers were a part of the unit, she had another pair of idiots to look after.

She was able to forgive Edward and Alphonse for being stupid, though. Even though they constantly seemed to be getting themselves into trouble, they were just kids. She found it harder to forgive the Colonel, however. He was a grown adult, and had been in the military for nearly eight years now. And the rest of the team weren't much better- they took every opportunity thrown at them to slack off.

One cold day in early December, the office was buzzing with excitement about Christmas. Roy had arrived with a box of decorations, ordering the team to help him decorate the office for the upcoming festival. Roy put himself in charge of tinsel, and took a hammer and nail to the wall trying to put it up. He hit the nail twice with the hammer, and Riza rolled her eyes, knowing what was coming next. She had refused to help with decorating, at least until her share of paper work was done.

"So I was talking to Yvonne yesterday, Hawkeye."

"Ah, I haven't seen her in ages. How's she getting on?" She continued with her head down, noting a 'Y' on a spare bit of paper.

"She had twins not that long ago. Olivia and Ursula, I think they're called."

"Lovely. I'll have to go see her sometime."

 "Oh, and Rebecca was asking about you when I saw her earlier."

"Oh, you were talking to Becca? How's she doing?" Havoc interrupted, and Riza rolled her eyes. At least the other's didn't know about their code system. 

"She's good. Oh hey, did you hear that Ed passed his State Alchemist exam?" 

"Oh, good for him!" Fuery added, straightening the branches of the extremely sparse tree.

"And talking of passing, Havoc, give me another nail."

Riza subtly scribbled these letters on the edge of the page, adding to what was already there. She signed more documents, rolling her eyes at the colonel's stupidity.

"Have you heard from your good friend Olivier, Lieutenant?" He joked, turning round to watch her face fall.

"No, I haven't. And I can't say I'm complaining. That woman scares me."

"I think she scares us all, Hawkeye," Falman said, sighing a little at the thought of the intimidating Briggs woman.

"I'm not disagreeing with you. I think I'm done with the tinsel, lieutenant. What do you think?" He asked, climbing off the chair, setting the hammer down on the desk with two taps.

Taking 'tinsel' as another letter, she wrote 'T' at the end of the page.

"It looks very festive, sir."

He sat down at his desk, admiring his handiwork. Riza got up, arms piled with paperwork. 

"For you, sir." The pile had a small piece of paper on the top, with "you're an ass" written on it in Riza's neat handwriting. 

* * *

Riza went out for pre Christmas drinks with Rebecca and Maria, and spent the evening playing pool with a completely sober Maria and an inebriated Rebecca. She called a cab for her friends, who both lived in the military accommodation, when Rebecca ended up almost passing out.

 

Maria hadn't had any alcohol that night, and was still in a fit state to get Rebecca into her dorm. She bid Riza goodbye, supporting Rebecca into the cab, waving with an almost unapproving face from the window.

Riza entered the bar again, after calling a cab to get herself home. She bought another drink, a glass of chilled white wine. It was strange, she thought. A Friday night, and she was sitting in the bar on her own with a glass of wine. Granted, this wasn't a usual pastime of hers, but she still felt weird, as if she wasn't allowed to be here.

Riza drained her glass, dragging herself off the bar stool and out into the cold. It was noticeably colder than when she was out not ten minutes ago, and she folded her arms across her chest to keep what little heat she had in. Her cab hadn't arrived yet, despite her informing the driver on the phone to be quick. She rolled her eyes, tapping her heels impatiently against the pavement.

A car pulled up in front of the bar, and the driver rolled the window down. 

"Riza?" She lifted her head, seeing that the driver of the car was none other than the colonel.

"Sir! What are you doing here?"

"I was just heading home, but I saw you standing here, and... Do you need a lift?"

"If it won't put you out of your way, then okay."

He nodded, and she scrambled into the passenger seat.

“What are you doing out anyway? I didn’t expect to see you out here.”

“I could ask you the same, Colonel.”  
  
“I was actually on my way home. I had a late night meeting, and then I had to sort out paperwork. But seriously, what were you doing?”  
  
“I was out with Lieutenants Ross and Catalina for drinks. Not my idea, can I just say.” 

They turned a corner, into the street where Riza lived. Roy stopped the car just outside her house, and she hopped out, standing at the door of the apartment block. 

“Thank you for the lift, sir.”  
  
“No problem, Lieutenant. I’ll escort you to the door.” He jumped out of the car, closing the door behind him.  
  
“No, sir. There’s no need to. I can walk upstairs on my own.”  
  
“Nonsense. I’m out of the car anyway.” He opened the door for her, and helped the very tipsy Hawkeye scale the stairs. She fumbled with her keys trying to get in the door.  
  
“Need help?”  
  
“I can open a door, sir.”

She finally unlocked the door, and stumbled into the flat, kicking off her shoes and leaving them beside the table in the hall. She shrugged her jacket off, and turned round to see Mustang standing at the door, which was closed behind him.  
  
“Sir.”  
  
“Yes?”  
  
“Why are you in my house?”  
  
“Well, you didn’t say I couldn’t be.”  
  
“That’s not the point. I didn’t say you could come in either.” She left him in the hall, heading through to the kitchen to get herself a glass of water, and put two slices of bread into the toaster. He followed her, sitting at her table. 

“You still haven’t unpacked since we got here?” He asked, glancing around at all the cardboard boxes stacked around the living room of Hawkeye’s new Central flat.  
  
“I’m sure you haven’t either, sir.” She had her back to him, still concentrating on the toast. 

“Are you going to make me food? It would be rude to ignore your superior officer if he was hungry.”  
  
“I’m not making you anything, sir. Now please, get out. I would like to sleep once I’ve finished this, and you’re starting to give me a headache.”  
  
“Fine.” He pulled himself up, using the table to balance himself. She followed him to the door, Hayate at her heels. Roy paused as he got the door, turning around to look at Riza sadly.

“We haven’t had much of a life, have we, Lieutenant?”  
  
“What do you mean, sir?”  
  
“If I had never joined the military, or even if I had, and you hadn’t followed me, we would probably be married by now.” He laughed, almost bitterly, at what had become of them.

“You can’t think about that sort of thing, sir. You know as well as I do, we-“ Her sentence was cut off by his mouth against hers, his fingers lacing through hers. She didn’t want this, she told herself, but no amount of convincing would help. He was all she really wanted, and she was all he wanted. His earlier comment about the fact that they would be married kept running through her head, and she felt like a teenager again- fawning over Roy Mustang.

She pushed him away, gently, drawing her mouth slowly away from his.  
  
“We can’t do this.” She shook her head, eyes falling to the floor.  
  
“I know.” Roy stepped away, opening the door and letting himself out. “Goodnight, Lieutenant.”

Riza waited until she heard his footsteps disappearing down the stairs before dropping to the ground and burying her face in her hands.


	7. Busted

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The rest of Team Mustang find out about their co-workers past.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was gonna rewrite this, but I can't really be bothered and it could be worse so here.

Spring came quickly, and Riza found herself staying late at the office more and more often. Roy was doing his usual amount of paperwork, as were the rest of the team, so she didn’t understand how they still weren’t getting the work done. Piles of paperwork came into the office and left every day, but they still seemed to be snowed under.

“Sir, it’s ten o’clock, and no one has made any progress in about an hour. You’ve spent this last twenty minutes staring into your coffee cup. Please, we need to go home.”   
  
“Fine. You can leave, but I’ll be staying on.” Mustang waved his hand at them dismissively, but Riza stopped them with one of her signature glares.   
  
“You need to leave too, sir. Otherwise we won’t get anything done tomorrow either.”  
  
He dragged himself out of his chair, wearily nodding at Hawkeye’s comments. He put on his coat, and held the door open for the others to leave the office.

“I want to see you all bright and early tomorrow. We have a lot to get through.” The unit dispersed, each walking in their own direction; Havoc, Fuery and Breda to the barracks around the corner, Falman to his house in the north of the city, and Hawkeye and Mustang to their own respective apartments in the east of the city. They walked together most nights, idle chitchat being passed between them. Tonight was more serious, however- in fact, ever since Hughes’s death; their topics of conversation were generally more sombre.

“It’s Scar.”  
  
“What? Where is he?” Riza responded quickly to those two words, hand flying to her gun.  
  
“No, not here. He was last sighted in East City, when we saw him. I haven’t heard where he’s been since. No, the paperwork. I’ve been given a lot of extra papers- confidential ones; so don’t bother offering to help. They want him off the streets as fast as possible, and the entire workforce is being roped in to help.”  
  
“So we’re doing your paperwork to make up for it?”  
  
“Pretty much. I’m sorry I haven’t mentioned it yet. I didn’t want it to stress you out.”  
  
“I’m already quite stressed, sir. It would’ve helped, knowing that there is a reason we’re barely making our deadline every day.” She sighed, pausing at the corner of the street her superior lived in. “Anyway, it’s a bit late now. Please don’t try to do anymore paperwork when you get in.”  
  
“I won’t. You know, I do value your opinion, Lieutenant.”  
  
“Maybe you should show that outwardly then,” she laughed, shaking her head at his stupidity. “Any plans for tomorrow evening, sir? It is a Friday, after all.”  
  
“I’ll probably go to the bar with the boys as usual. Oh, and I won’t be at lunch tomorrow. I’m taking Elizabeth out for lunch.”  
  
“Oh are you? That’ll be nice.”  
  
“If you see her, tell her to wear something nice.” 

“Will do.” She saluted as he turned to walk down the street. “Goodnight, sir.”  
  
He waved one hand, not turning to say anything in return. She continued down the road to her apartment block, both amused and angry at Roy’s stupid way of asking her out for lunch. 

 

* * *

 

 

 

“Sir, I’ll be leaving at eleven thirty today for a dental appointment, and I aim to be back for one o’clock.”  
  
“That’s fine, Hawkeye. Thank you for warning me.”  
  
She took her seat, attempting to get through as much of the paperwork as she physically could before she had to leave. Once she left, she had to almost run to her apartment, as she knew he would be leaving at twelve to get to the restaurant. She threw off her uniform, replacing it for a long skirt and a pale green shirt. She brushed her hair through, lifting the fake glasses she often wore while in disguise, and painted her lips the bright red that Elizabeth usually wore.

Riza dashed out of the building, quickly making her way into the centre of the city to meet up with Roy. She saw him waiting in front of the restaurant, and cursed herself for taking so long to get there.  
  
“Hello, Roy,” she greeted, putting a strand of flyaway hair behind her ear.

“Good afternoon, Elizabeth. Shall we sit down?” The couple walked into the restaurant, sitting at the back, hidden from the view of any military personnel that may have been walking by.

“How had your week been?”  
  
“Not bad. Very busy. You’ve heard about that guy who’s been going round killing alchemists, right? He’s number one priority right now, so we’ve all been working had to catch him. How about yours?”  
  
“Great. The florist has been very busy recently. Spring weddings are all the rage this weather, so we’ve been stocking a lot of them this week.”

There topic of conversation varied greatly, but always seemed to go back to either Scar or the imaginary florist they had made up to get Havoc off their case. They finished their lunch, and sat for a few minutes idly talking before Roy asked for the bill.  
  
“I have to go, Roy. Back to work this afternoon, you know?”  
  
“Oh? I thought you had the day off.”  
  
“No. I thought I might have, but my boss told me about an appointment I had to get to with very little notice.” She smiled sweetly at him, but he knew what her implication was. 

“I’m sorry to hear that.”

“I’ll see you again then Roy.” She stood up on her tiptoes, kissing him on the cheek in an unusual girly way. He looked confused, almost as confused as she was as to why she did it. But it didn’t matter, and she was gone, hailing down a cab to bring her home.

 

* * *

 

Riza calmly walked into the office at two minutes past one, and was surprised to see that Mustang hadn’t yet returned. She sat herself down; making quick work of the paperwork that was piling up. Roy waltzed into the office ten minutes after her, getting with his work and looking suspiciously happy.

“What’s with the face chief? Something good happen?” Havoc asked, putting his feet on the desk as he usually did.

“Nothing in particular. Lunch with Elizabeth went well, that’s all.” He gave a very unsubtle glance over to Hawkeye whose head was down in her work.

“And how about you, Hawkeye? How was your lunch with the colonel?” Havoc asked, clearly laughing at them. Roy almost fell out of her chair, whereas Riza was much more composed.  
  
“I was at the dentist, thank you very much.”  
  
“Can you prove that?”   
  
“Can you prove that I was at lunch with Mustang?” She retaliated, lifting her head to stare at him dead in the eyes.  
  
“Well, I can’t but I can ask the others to back me up. Right?” They nodded simultaneously, and Riza simply shook her head at them.

“You’re wrong.”  
  
“I’m telling you, I definitely saw her! You were both at the restaurant, the one where you took us for Christmas dinner last year or something,’ he explained to Roy, who simply rolled his eyes.

“Drop it, Havoc. If Hawkeye says she was at the dentist, I’m going to assume she was at the dentist, okay?”  
  
“So you’re denying it too? You know, no one here minds if you two are like, a thing.”  
  
“It doesn’t matter if you don’t mind, Havoc. It’s the higher-ups that mind. General Hakuro, Fuhrer Bradley, all that lot. It’s illegal, but Colonel I-don’t-care-about-the-rules doesn’t seem to mind.”

“So you’re admitting it?”  
  
“I may as well. It’s clear me telling you otherwise was of no use.”

“So tell us,” Falman interrupted, “How did you two meet?”  
  
Riza sighed at this question- it was one she didn’t particularly want to answer, as it involved going into some particularly bad memories of her childhood. Fortunately, Mustang told the long story in her place, and she simply watched the rest of the team’s enthralled faces, adding in details she deemed important where he had missed them out. And of course, as well as telling the basic bones of the story, he had to add in the embarrassing bits about her crying a lot, although he had the decency to leave out the fact that she had been abused by her father. 

After at least half an hour of this story, Roy stopped, letting the words sink into the ears of the listeners in.

“So, what you’re saying is that you two have practically been dating for ten years? Wow, Hawkeye, I didn’t know it was possible put up with him for more than five minutes.”  
  
“Shut up, Havoc.”


	8. Fishing

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Roy attempts to flirt with Riza over the phone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this is just. actual fma plot. Nothing exciting.

“Good morning, sir.” Riza marched into the office late one morning, standing herself in front of her commanding officer’s desk.

“What morning? It’s almost twelve o’clock.” Mustang said, pondering her unusual lateness.

“Nevermind that. I’m only here to put in this form for official leave. Permission to take a few days off, sir.” She held the form out in front of her, already stamped, probably by her. “I just need your signature.” He lifted the paper from her hand, signing it and setting it on top of a growing pile of requests for leave.

“Have a good day, sir.” She went to turn away, but mouthed ‘ten minutes’ at him before strutting towards the door and slamming it behind her.

There were awkward mumblings among the people left in the room. Roy had been given more soldiers to take care of since his arrival in central, and they seemed shocked by Lieutenant Hawkeye’s sudden request. The rest of Mustang’s team had taken the day off too, and it was true that this was overdue _and_ well deserved.

Ten minutes had barely passed since Riza had stormed out of the office, and Mustang picked up the phone on his desk, dialing an unknown number. It was a moment before whoever was on the other end picked up.  
  
“Elizabeth? How’s it going!?”

The colonel leaned back in his chair, clearly neglecting his duties.  There was a notion of uneasiness from the rest of the room, and mumblings of disapproval from some of them. Hawkeye wasn’t gone even ten minutes, and he was already on the phone to some woman. Of course, what they didn’t know was who exactly this ‘Elizabeth’ was.

Since the lunch incident, Elizabeth had become Riza’s unofficial code-name, with the rest of the team also taking place in this charade, all getting girls names. The story was that they worked in a flower shop, and this would cover them while they were in the field. The male members of the team were less than impressed with their names- Havoc had got Jacqueline, Fuery was Kate, Falman had Vanessa, and Breda was landed with ‘Braidykins’, which he argued wasn’t even a name. Clearly, Colonel Mustang wasn’t the most imaginative with names.

Hawkeye was situated in the abandoned clock tower that overlooked downtown Central. Her rifle, that she rarely got to use, was set up by the open window, and she had the telephone set up just beside where she had found most comfortable to lean; just against the wall.

Fuery nipped in and out, checking up on her every now and again. She insisted she was fine every time, but truth be told; she was bored out of her skull. There had been almost no action since she had positioned herself up here, apart from Havoc sneaking into the building to check up if Falman was still holding up. She honestly thought that if the phone wasn’t here and she had the means to talk to the colonel, she would die of boredom.

When he had invited her on a fishing trip in the west, she hadn’t immediately jumped at the chance, but a weekend away with the colonel wouldn’t have been the worst thing she could imagine. When he told her on the phone that it would be metaphorical fishing, and they weren’t going away, and she had to take unpaid leave, she wasn’t particularly happy. They were fishing however, but not herself and the colonel. No, the colonel was barely even involved. It was her on her own, with Havoc, Falman, Fuery and Breda occasionally checking she was still alive via the phone. And they weren’t fishing for fish- oh no, that wasn’t the colonel’s style. They were fishing for _homunculi._

“Elizabeth. Are you still there?” A worried Mustang called down the phone.

“Oh, yes sorry. I almost dozed off. The shop is practically empty at the moment.”

“Maybe you could sneak away and see me, then.” His tone was the one she had heard him use many time when he wanted his own way- flirtatious and teasing.

“Oh no, what if a customer comes in? I can’t leave everything to Jacqueline and Kate, can I?” She answered, voice dangerously sweet. She hissed into the receiver, almost as an afterthought. “Please don’t talk like that, sir.”  
  
“Sorry if I offended you.” His tone was quick to change; he was always like this when Riza gave any hint that he had upset her. Riza peered out the window, hearing noises from the flat she assumed Barry the Chopper and Falman were staying in. The window smashed, and she spotted the suit of armour that was Barry fleeing the apartment in pursuit of a humanoid creature that seemed to want to destroy anything in it’s way. Havoc and Falman soon followed it, and she took this as her cue to move into action.  
  
“Sorry, Roy. I’ll call you back. We’re having a bit of trouble with one of the customers. Don’t worry, though.” She set the phone down, moving the rifle to the position she felt most comfortable in. She took aim, and fired a single bullet into the creature’s foot. She didn’t want to kill it, and from where she was standing, she would’ve had a perfect shot to kill. Was this creature a homunculus? She couldn’t tell; she had never seen one in real life. All she knew that was there was three that they were certain existed. One with long black hair, a black dress and black gloves, as described by Edward Elric. One was fat and short, and ate anything near it. There was another that Edward couldn’t describe. Apparently they could shape shift, and Riza was worried that she wouldn’t be able to mistake this homunculus from a regular civilian. All three bore a tattoo; what looked like an oroboros enclosing Flamel’s symbol. She couldn’t see perfectly from this far away, but she didn’t think this creature had one of these.

The colonel phoned back, and she picked up the phone, holding it between her shoulder and chin as she watched out the window. 

“How’s it going?” He asked, and she could hear that he was noticeably more worried than before.

“All seems to be under control. We have a customer we haven’t seen before, but it’s not one of the big customers we’re hoping will come in today.”  
  
“Alright. Sounds like you’re enjoying today, right, Elizabeth?”  
  
“Well, it’s-“  
  
Riza couldn’t finish her sentence as she heard a noise behind her. Hayate barked, and she noticed something moving.  
  
“Just a second, Roy.”  
  
She sneaked her hand up behind her back, fingers sitting on the handle of her pistol. The phone was still stuck on her shoulder, and Roy could hear her breathing intensify.

“Everything alright?”

  
Suddenly, a figure appeared, and it matched the description that Edward had given her, and the drawing that Major Armstrong had provided, perfectly. Without hesitation, she pulled her gun from it’s holster, firing rounds one after each other in quick succession. She let the phone drop, not having time to hang up. She pulled another gun out, shooting again, but the creature seemed unfazed.   
  
“That hurt…” He rubbed his head, crawling back onto his feet. “I’m going to eat you now.” He waddled towards her, opening his mouth wide enough for Riza to see that on his tongue was tattooed this oroboros symbol. She didn’t even have a chance to open her mouth before the creature- no, _homunculus,_ had her in it’s grasp. Her feet were barely touching the floor, and his breath was rancid in her face. 

“Lust says I have to wait to eat people today… but I’m sure she won’t mind if I have just a quick snack!” She tried to scream for help, and just as she did, flames licked past her elbow, making the homunculus free her.

“Get out of the way, Lieutenant.” Mustang stood in the doorway that Gluttony had entered through not five minutes previously, hand poised to snap. She dashed sideways, and he swiftly moved his hands, sending the creature flying out the window.

“I heard the noise, are you… Colonel!” Fuery appeared in the door too, surprised by the sudden appearance of Roy.

“Are you and _idiot_ , Colonel? You were told to stay on your post, but no, you come waltzing in here, hero of the day! I could’ve managed that myself, but you just had to interfere! You’ve given away all your involvement in the plan now!” Mustang looked down at the ground sheepishly, but only for a moment.  
  
“That thing should be dead by now.”  
  
“No chance. I shot it, probably over twenty times, but it didn’t look injured at all.”

“We’ll go after it then.”  
  
“No. If we’re going after anything, we’re going to after Havoc. He was going after that thing I mentioned.”  
  
“Alright. Let’s go. Fuery, you wait here.”  
  
“And Hayate, you stay with him.”  
  
The Lieutenant and the Colonel ran out of the building, jumping into the car that was waiting outside of the building, and following Havoc.

“You didn’t need to come, sir.”  
  
“I know. But I did.” They were silent for a moment, before she turned to him.

“Thank you.”

 


	9. Research

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Roy, Riza ad Jean make a horrible discovery.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the late update! I took a break from writing for a week or so c: everything will continue to update this week!

“You killed her. You actually managed to kill one of the homunculi.”  
  
“Lieutenant Hawkeye, this is a direct order to shut up.”  
  
“Sir, this is amazing! One of them is finally dead, we’ve figured out to beat them!”  
  
“No offense Hawkeye, but you are being seriously annoying with all this talk. I think we should mention that I lost yet another girlfriend.” Havoc stared down at his lap sadly, being all ‘woe is me’.

“Well Havoc, maybe you should think better about your choice of woman better in the future. If they look slightly off, she’s probably a homunculus,” Roy added, mocking the poor man. 

They were both in the military hospital after a fateful encounter with the homunculus who called herself ‘Lust’. She turned out to be a girlfriend of Jean’s, and he was devastated when she almost killed him, the colonel, Hawkeye and Alphonse Elric. Riza hadn’t had the best time with the woman herself; she had claimed that she had killed Mustang, and Riza was beside herself when she found out the news.

Of course, Roy had stepped in, not dead, and incinerated the woman while Alphonse had protected Riza. She had almost cried again when Roy collapsed onto the floor and sent Al to get a doctor right away.

Now, in the hospital, Havoc and Mustang had pushed their tables together, and were sitting as upright as they could while bearing the pain. Riza had pulled the uncomfortable chair from the bottom of Havoc’s bed to sit in between the two beds. Visiting times were technically over, but Colonel Mustang had given her the order to stay in the room with them, and so she had stayed.

Pages and pages were scattered over the rickety table, spanning every topic that had come up lately- laboratory five, the murder of Hughes, what they learned from Barry the Chopper, and the recent events below the third laboratory.

“So, what we know is that there are a group of people, calling themselves homunculi. And they are terrorizing Central City?”  
  
“To be honest Havoc, I genuinely think they are homunculi. I did some research in the library before visiting today, and I found this.” Riza set a book on the table, open on a page titled ‘Homunculi’. “A homunculus is a person made by alchemy. Generally a rebound from human transmutation, these creatures are frail and never last long. There are no current records of Homunculi living in the world.” 

“When was this book written?” Roy asked, turning it round to scan the page for himself.  
  
“Five years ago. It could be true that there were no current records- either these creatures have been created recently, or no one has recorded their existence previously.”  
  
“That would explain it. Did you find anything else?” Havoc asked, shuffling the sheets to find one that was empty to write this down.

“Nothing. That was the only thing I could find. We can write down what we know, however. I think we’ve learned a lot from our trip into the third laboratory.”  
  
“I agree with the Hawkeye. What little information we were given by the Elrics and Major Armstrong wasn’t particularly helpful.” Havoc found a sheet with a drawing of Lust on it, and scribbled ‘dead’ beside it.

“So. We have Lust, Gluttony and Envy. We should try to figure out what the connections between them are. Are they the only ones?”

“Lust had the tattoo on her chest, and Gluttony’s was on his tongue. I haven’t seen Envy for myself, but according to Edward, it was on their thigh.”  
  
“Is there anything that connects this?” Havoc asked, noting it down.  
  
“No. Move on. Apart from the fact that they all have this tattoo, there’s not much to read in to.” Mustang clearly didn’t want to do this, but supervising his subordinates in their investigation was the least he could do.

“They all can regenerate easily. They are notoriously hard to kill because of these regenerative powers, and therefore they could take down any normal human,” Riza added, pointing at the page to tell Havoc to write it down.  
  
“Lieutenant, are you implying that I am no normal human?” Roy asked, on eyebrow raised.

“No sir. I am merely saying that no unarmed human could beat a homunculus. You have your flame alchemy, and besides, I had used three guns worth of ammo on her before you arrived.” She glared at him, and he glared back, annoyed that she had shot him down so easily.

“They have weird powers right? Lust had her weird spear glove things.”

  
“Right. I’m pretty sure that Gluttony can eat people- he threatened to eat me. And Envy apparently has the shape shifting thing, which could make them a hard target to track down.”  
  
Havoc wrote this down, and the three stared at the character profiles they had just made. No sound was made in that room, apart from the passing of paper and scribbling of notes.

  
“I’ve got it,” Roy said, breaking the silence that had overcome the room for the past few minutes.

“What? What is it?”  
  
“I’m sure you’ve heard of the seven deadly sins. The cardinal sins. The capital vices. They appear in religion, as seven things that are wrong with humanity. Taking these things away would make a perfect human. These things have been mentioned since the beginning of time- in mythology, and like I said already, they play a big part in religion. Envy, Lust and Gluttony are three of the seven deadly sins.” Mustang snatched the pen out of a confused Havoc’s hand, scribbling this down on one of the pages.

“So what your saying, sir, is that there are most likely seven homunculi?” Riza asked, watching Roy’s hand as he wrote this all down.

“Yes. That’s what I think. Someone- I don’t know who- is controlling them, or at least telling them what to do. Someone who is trying to become a perfect being.”  
  
“So, what are the other four? Sins, I mean,” Havoc interjected, interrupting Mustang’s sermon.

“Greed, also known as avarice. Sloth, Wrath, and Pride, which is considered to be the worst.”  
  
“So if I hear anyone calling themselves Wrath, I’m supposed to tell you immediately, right?”

“This is no joking matter, Havoc!” Roy spluttered, desperate to get his point across. “There is a legion of superhumans walking the streets of Amestris, and you’re laughing?”  
  
“Sorry, Colonel. It’s just too weird to think about.”  
  
“We need to find Edward and Alphonse, see if he’s had any more chance encounters with homunculi. He seems to be a magnet for them,” Riza said, stopping the two men from shouting at each other.

“You’re right. You never know, he might just know about another one,” Havoc agreed, setting the pen down, and lying back in his bed.

Riza leaned back in her chair, watching the door to see if any of the rest of the unit were coming to visit the incapacitated Havoc and Mustang. Instead of the familiar characteristics of the team she knew so well, she saw a different familiar face; a man with an eyepatch over one eye, swanning past the door as if he had heard every single word.


	10. Fear

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Riza tries her best not to panic.

When Colonel Mustang found out that his precious Lieutenant was to be taken from him, his natural reaction was to scream. But he couldn't. His queen had been taken from him, kept just out of his reach. His knight was completely incapacitated. And his bishop, rook and pawn were flung to the furthest corners of Amestris, with no chance of him getting them back.

In short, he was in check.

But all was not lost. The pieces weren't out; no, it would just be hard for them to put the other side out of action. No, it hadn't got to checkmate yet.

With Riza being held under the Fuhrer's care, Roy was worried about her wellbeing. He saw her every now again, and her eyes told him everything he needed to know. She looked tired, as if she hadn't had the chance to sleep since she was given the job. He hadn't slept much either; without his usual subordinates to help him with his job, he didn't have any spare time, and was forced to do unpaid overtime to get the paperwork done.

Clearly Fuhrer Bradley knew Roy's schedule like the back of his hand, as he never saw Riza at lunch. They passed each other in the corridors many times, but not a word could be passed between them. If the higher-ups knew that they were still in contact with each other, she would be taken even further away from him, completely out of his reach.

* * *

In such a short space of time, Lieutenant Hawkeye had learned everything there was to know about being the Fuhrer's personal secretary. She was used to the rigours of secretarial life, but at least with Colonel Mustang, he trusted her, and genuinely cared about what she had to stay. Bradley was less caring, and simply demanded the paperwork was on his desk each morning. He was barely there anyway, constantly away on some kind of business trip. Not that she was complaining; it meant she didn't have to work under his watchful gaze. 

The worst thing about this job was the fact that she often had to bring paperwork to the Bradley household. It was a nice house, granted, but what she knew about it’s main inhabitant made her stomach turn. She always visited after dark, which made her feel that little bit more uncomfortable.

 Riza rang the doorbell of the Fuhrer’s residence, waiting patiently outside until the door was opened by one of the butlers. She explained that she was just dropping off some paperwork, and she would be gone in a few minutes. The staff at the house were used to her turning up every now and then, so she wasn’t given any strange looks or security checks. Mrs Bradley appeared out of a side room, coming to see who was at the door. 

“Oh, Lieutenant Hawkeye. It’s nice to see you. Are you here to drop of more paperwork for my husband?”  
  
“Yes, I am. Is he here?” She balanced the pile against her hip, surveying the house’s hallway.  
  
“No, I’m afraid he won’t be back until very late. Is there anything I can help with, dear?”  
  
“If you could see that the Fuhrer got this and ask that he tried to get what he could done for the morning?”  
  
“Yes, I’ll pass your message on. Thank you very much.” Riza nodded her head, offering the woman a smile. She was about to turn to leave when she felt a presence standing behind her that hadn’t been there before. It felt the same as what she felt up the clock tower when Gluttony was about to attack her. She turned around slowly, to see the Fuhrer’s son, Selim, standing with a curious look on his face. 

“Hello,” she said, wary of the child from the strange presence he had.

 “Selim, you should be in bed.” Mrs Bradley went over to him, shooing him into the room he presumably came from.  
  
“I thought it might have been father back,” she heard him say as he was sent to back to bed, and this confirmed her suspicions. He was definitely a homunculus, and if not, he had at least been in contact with more than just his father in the last while.  
  
Riza left the house, following the path by the side of the house to the street where she had parked her car. The garden was dimly lit, and the pillars holding the house up cast eerie shadows over the path. Riza was more than halfway down the path when the same feeling she had earlier made her stop.

“You have it all figured out, don’t you?” The voice sounded just like Selim’s, but more sinister, as if it had an echo around it. 

“I’m not sure. I _think_ I know what you are, Selim Bradley.”  
  
“Of course you do. But you’re not going to tell anyone, are you? And you’re not going to pull your gun out, are you? Imagine the trouble you’d get in if they found out you’d _murdered_ the Fuhrer’s son. You’d be court martialed immediately.”  
  
“I wouldn’t be stupid enough to shoot you anyway. I’ve shot a homunculus before, and I know it makes absolutely no difference.”  
  
“Don’t say that word!” His voice changed considerably, almost turning into a hiss. Riza felt movement behind her, and too afraid to turn around, she stood still, fear completely paralysing her. “If _she_ finds out what I am, we’re over. She’ll probably die of shock. But you wont mention that word again, will you?”

She shook her head, barely moving. It was clear enough for Selim to make out, however. There was a noise behind her, almost like a swish of curtains, but a lot faster, a lot sharper, and suddenly Riza couldn’t move her arms or legs. She glanced down to see her body bound by what looked like black strings, with little hands protruding from the end of them.

“You won’t tell anyone will you? Not your friends, not Edward Elric, and definitely not your favourite Colonel.”  
  
“No.” She struggled to keep her voice steady, having to swallow hard at the end of her short sentence.

“Good.” The hands moved up to her face. “Take care, Lieutenant.” With one clean swipe, one of the hands moved across her cheek, cutting into the skin, leaving a mark akin to a paper cut. “But don’t forget; wherever you go, I will be watching you from the shadows…”  
  
Without saying anything, Riza started walking, almost falling over herself to get out the gates. She walked faster than she ever had in her life, reaching her car within a few seconds. She drove home without a backward glance to the Bradley household.

Riza almost threw herself into her apartment, slamming the door behind her. Hayate padded up to her, and she grabbed him, causing him to yelp. She hit the light switch on the wall as she slid down the door, cuddling Hayate close to her chest. He licked her cheek, noticing the cut that she had received. She found it so, so hard to keep the tears in, but crying wasn’t something she particularly liked doing, and she held the tears in until she felt her eyes burn with the pain.

The phone rang seconds later, a shrill sound piercing the darkness. Riza nearly jumped out of skin, and went to answer it, leaving a confused Hayate by the door. Her hand rested on the receiver, wary of whether she should pick it up or not. With one swift movement she brought it to her ear.

“This is your local neighbourhood florist! Would you like to by some flowers?” _Thank God._ The Colonel never had good timing, but hearing his voice now somehow managed to soothe her, and she finally let her shoulders relax.

“What are you talking about, sir?” Her voice was as exasperated as usual, but now it was to cover up the genuine fear she was feeling.

“I got drunk and accidentally bought a car full of flowers. Do you want to take some off my hands?”  
  
“I’m sorry sir. I don’t even own a flower vase.”  
  
There was a pregnant pause, and Riza knew that he could tell something was wrong. She barely breathed, not knowing what to say. That child would be following her, or so he said, and she was genuinely afraid of him doing something to harm her. 

“Is everything okay, Lieutenant?” Roy asked, concern evident in his voice.

“I’m fine. Thank you, sir. And I’m sorry about the flowers. I hope you find someone to take them off your hands.”  
  
“It’s fine, Hawkeye. Thank you anyway. Have a good night.”  
  
“You too. Goodnight.” Riza hung up, sitting weakly at the table. She wasn’t used to this sort of fear- she had always presented herself as untouchable, ever since she was a child. Fear was not an emotion she was used to feeling. She buried her face in her arms, trying to ignore the thoughts flying around her head.

* * *

A knock came to the door and Riza’s head shot straight up in blind panic. She had to answer the door, of course she did, but who would be calling at this time of night? She opened the door, completely unsurprised by who was there. He was the only person with no sense that came calling to people’s doors late at night. 

“I brought you flowers.” He produced a bouquet from behind his back, one he had clearly put together himself. Red gladioli and red roses were surrounded by yellow flowers- tulips, and what she thought were probably chrysanthemums, tied at the bottom with a thin red ribbon.  
  
“I told you I didn’t own a vase.”  
  
“Put them in a glass of water. I’m sure they’ll be alright.” He took a few steps into the house. “More importantly, are you okay?”  
  
“Yes. I’m fine.” She stared him out, limp bouquet in her hands. Her eyes dropped to the floor, almost ashamed at her obvious lie. “No.” Her voice broke, tears running down her cheeks. 

“Hey, hey. It’s okay. It’s okay. You’ll be fine.” He wrapped him arms around her in a tight embrace, and she felt bad about crying into his shoulder. Her sobs subsided, and she slowly drew herself away from him.  
  
“You should go…” 

“But you’re upset. Lieutenant, I’m staying here.”  
  
“No. Sir, you have to understand. Please. I’ll explain some other time. Please, just go.”  
  
He looked at her sadly, and she took a step backwards, further into her apartment. He left, blowing her a kiss, which she smiled at to show that she wasn’t angry with him. She closed the door, sad to see him go. Usually, she would’ve been glad to see him go, but today, she wished he could’ve stayed.

* * *

 Riza phoned Havoc early in the morning, having to listen to his whole ‘from our hearts to your home’ speech before getting to speak. 

“Hello, Havoc.”  
  
“Oh, it’s just you. How’s it going, Hawkeye?”  
  
“Fine, but you could’ve sounded slightly more enthusiastic about my phone call. Anyway, I have a question.”  
  
“Shoot.”  
  
“Do you know anything about the meaning of flowers?” She sounded honestly interested, but Havoc just laughed at her.

“Not really. Hang on, I’ll ask my mother.” She waited a minute, hearing bubbly chatter in the background before Havoc picked up again. “Sorry about that. She says she doesn’t know much, but yellow chrysanthemums mean you have a secret admirer.”  
  
“Wow, really? And… do you know what a chrysanthemum looks like?”  
  
“You’re full of questions today. I didn’t even know you liked flowers.”  
  
“Hurry up. I have to get to work.”  
  
“According to mum, they look kinda like daisies, but more colourful and with more petals.”  
  
“Alright. Thank you, Havoc.”  
  
“Hey, what’s this all about? Do you have a secret admirer?” Riza smiled, poking one of the flowers with her fingernail. 

“I guess you could say that.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So.... I wrote this chapter on March 14th, 2015. It's now April 11th, 2016. I'm so sorry? I'm finally updating things in general at a better pace so I'll make an attempt to post the rest of this fanfic within the week and then write the third one in the series with regular updates!


	11. Reminiscent

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Roy tries to be as covert as possible.

It was with a heavy heart that Roy turned his back on Central Command. He knew what was going to happen tomorrow, and he knew that it was the last day he would spend in the building the way it was. Not that he was complaining; he had it in his mind that when he returned, it would be to that big chair he had longed to sit in for so long. He had left the command centre at just past three- he had to at least _pretend_ he wasn’t about to start a coup d’état. The pile of paperwork that was previously on his desk had all but gone, and his office was left neat and tidy for once. He was due to meet up with Hawkeye, Breda and Fuery at four am, so he had one hour to get himself ready before the big day.

He took a shower in the military locker room rather than traipsing the whole way home and wasting valuable time. It wasn’t his favourite place to be, due to the fact that the showers were barely ever cleaned (“it’s water, they’ll clean themselves,” he had once overheard said). He had half a mind to burn the godforsaken place to the ground, but changed his mind, turning on his heel and stuffing his hands into his pockets.

It was now three thirty, and the moon was shining bright above Central City. There were two more things he needed to do, and he had half an hour to do them in. The first would probably take the longest, and he headed slowly in the direction of his favourite bar- Madame Christmas’s. It was unusual for him to enter the bar without ordering anything, but he knew what he came to do was more important. He bundled his foster mother down the back stairs of her seedy residence, into the sewers that ran directly below it. He was about to part ways with her, when he gave her a hug- a gesture he hadn’t bestowed upon her in a long while. She laughed him off, telling him for the millionth time this week that he wasn’t to die carrying out his crazy plan. He bid her farewell, and they turned in opposite directions. Above them, the bar was ablaze, removing any trace of the secret planning that had gone on inside.

He could hear the yelling of other military members from over head, barely loud enough through the ground. He heard his name, and knew that he had ben found out. Maybe they knew all along. He couldn’t dwell on that now- he had to get on with the final preparations.

Roy didn’t get time to finish his list of self-assigned tasks before four o’clock. He checked his pocket watch on the way out of the sewers, and read that it was a little past four. He shook his head at himself- he would just have to ask the others to watch his back while he finished his business. He opened the door to their agreed rendezvous point slowly, one hand ready to strike, in case they had been found out. Of course, they hadn’t been, and he was glad to see at least some of his squad back together.

“Good evening, Colonel,” Hawkeye said, smirking at the fact that he was still late, even on this important day. “Everything go according to plan?”  
  
“Yes, thank you. There’s one thing I need to do before we leave for the radio station, however,” he explained. “Hawkeye, watch my back. Fuery and Breda, wait here, and report to the graveyard if anything happens.” His subordinates looked confused about these plans, but caught on quickly after the word graveyard left his mouth. The nodded, Fuery and Breda sitting down on the boxes of ammunition they had stacked inside the narrow store room.

“Hawkeye. We still can’t be seen together, as they’ll know what’s up. I’m sure they already have their suspicions. Wait here for a minute, and then take the long route around. Make sure you aren’t seen.”  
  
“Yes, sir.”

He left the three sitting in the dimly lit room, almost marching to the graveyard only a few streets away. They all knew which grave he was going to visit- there was only one he would at this time of night, on such a day as this. The gate was open as usual, and he walked calmly through the headstones, as if visiting a graveyard at four o’clock in the morning was a perfectly normal thing to be doing. He paced across the grass to the most familiar gravestone in the field- the one belonging to Maes Hughes.  
  
“You’re lucky you’re getting out of this, Hughes.” He was silent for a moment, as if expecting the dead Hughes to talk back to him. “It’s not going to be fun. But we’re so close to making this country a better place, just as I promised all those years ago. I just have to hope that we don’t die before the day is out.” He laughed bitterly; the thought of dying was one that was sadly all too real. 

“You’d loved this fight, Hughes. It would’ve been right up your street. Oh, and you were right. About everything. The homunculi. I know that’s what you were on to.” Roy stared into the sky, relishing the thought of his best friend being around to see what would definitely be their last fight, whether they died or not. He heard footsteps behind him, and whipped around to see who had sneaked up on him. The sky was lightening, clouds streaking across the sky in pinks and blues. Riza stood a few feet away from him, shirt blowing in the light breeze. 

“We should go, sir. Day is coming, and we have to get to Central Command before everyone wakes up.” Roy nodded, turning back to Hughes’s grave one last time. He backed away from it slowly, before following the Lieutenant back to their hideout.

* * *

“Are we all ready?” Mustang asked, bursting into the cramped storeroom. A chorus of “yes, sir,” came back from his subordinates. Each one of them was armed, and they were all ready to face the day ahead of them.

They were supposed to take over the radio station, and try to broadcast what was going on to the general public. Forces from Central had surrounded the entire city; clearly trying to avoid any mess that they knew would come from these insurgents. Mustang hadn’t heard any news from Grumman about the status of the Fuhrer, so he assumed that all had gone well on that end. Blowing up the train was a risk they didn’t want to take, as it could’ve injured or killed others in the process. But no news was good news, right?

Not hearing anything was both a blessing and a curse. Mustang, who was fairly optimistic about the event, was convinced that they had managed to kill Bradley, and that was another homunculus out of the road. Riza, and most of the rest of the rebels, thought otherwise- until the body had been found, the Fuhrer was still very much alive, and they were still in deep trouble.

The sun came up over Central City, casting it’s warm glow over the buildings. Military Police were strategically positioned everywhere; in every alley, on every street corner. And of course, there was a band of men and women, ready to fight to defend Central, armed with guns and hand explosives. It was only a matter of time before the promised day began.


	12. Fin

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In wich Roy wishes he could say a million things and Riza tries not to cry.

There were a million things Roy wished he could say to Riza. He wished he could tell her they’d be alright. He wished he could say that they would make it out alive. He wished he could tell her that he loved her. But none of that could happen, not right now.  
  
He was blind. He couldn’t see where she was; even with the support of whoever it was- he later found out it was Izumi- that was helping him. He dreaded the thought of getting back to where he left her and finding out she was dead. Even with May’s alkahestry, he had left the Lieutenant in a dire situation. Something could’ve gone wrong, and she could’ve died, and he wouldn’t ever see her again.

So he panicked. His breathing was erratic, and as he was guided towards the large group of people forming in the room they had been in before, he tried to tune his ears to hear whoever was there. Major Armstrong’s booming voice was heard clearly over the general mumbling. He could just about pick out Olivier as well, but he couldn’t hear Hawkeye’s voice at all.  
  
Izumi and Sig reunited, and he was told to look after the Colonel. He was brought onto the ground, where he sat, rubbing his eyes trying to get some sort of feeling into them. He knew it was useless, that they’d gone and couldn’t come back, but he wanted to pretend that just for a moment-

“Colonel!”   
  
There she was. A weight was lifted off his chest when he heard her voice. It was scared, and he cursed himself for letting himself get so worried about. Of course, she could take care of herself, and there was nothing else to worry about.

“Lieutenant.”  
  
Everyone busied themselves with other conversations, knowing that this could potentially turn into an intimate moment between them.  
  
“Are you injured?”  
  
“My eyes… I’ve lost my eyesight.” Hawkeye’s breath hitched in her throat. “How are your injuries?”  
  
“Don’t worry about-“  
  
“Can you still fight, Lieutenant Hawkeye?”  
  
“Yes, sir!”

* * *

She wraps an arm around his waist to help him balance, and he drapes his arm across her shoulders. Major Armstrong followed respectfully behind, giving them enough personal space. There was something strangely intimate about the way they moved, completely in tandem with one another. No words were passed between the two, and the Lieutenant kept her eyes firmly ahead of her.

The ascended to the surface slowly, Hawkeye making sure the Colonel could transmute safely before telling him what to do. Armstrong followed her lead, and soon they were standing outside Central Command. The battle was raging furiously, and Riza could make out the familiar figure of the man the homunculi called ‘father’, standing in the centre of the courtyard, unscathed.

“Colonel Mustang, do you really think you can do this?” Armstrong asked doubtfully. “I mean, you can’t see anything. How on earth do you expect to transmute if you don’t know what direction you’re firing in?” A smirk passed across Mustang’s lips at this.  
  
“I don’t need my eyes. I’ve got the Hawk’s eyes on my side.”

Hawkeye couldn’t help but smile at that. It was true- she could act as his eyes. So, with her hand placed on his shoulder, she yelled commands at him, in a complete role reversal. She could be his eyes, and his ears, and anything else he needed her to be. After all, that’s why she was here.

* * *

It was all over in a matter of minutes, really, and the most nail-biting thing was waiting for Alphonse to come back from the other side. Ed was beside himself, and the tears won’t stopped falling down his cheeks. He claimed he was just happy, but Riza can tell that the stresses of the day have got to him more than to anyone else.

It’s strange, she thought, how alike Ed and Al look. Although his face was gaunt, and his bones visible through his pale skin, Alphonse looked identical to his elder brother. The resemblance was most clear in his eyes, and at the thought of eyes, she turned back to the colonel.

He’d been sitting on the ground since the battle ended, face buried in his hands. She moves towards him, now realising how weak her legs are feeling. It’s definitely the adrenaline that got them through the day, and it was a miracle that no more of them died. Scar was lifted out on a stretcher, and Ling supported Lan Fan to the medical tent that’s quickly set up. It was almost cute, but she remembers that Ling lost Greed, who he’d been relying on the whole time, and her heart fell again. 

“Colonel,” she said softly, putting a hand on his shoulder. He moved his head upright, but once he remembered that he still couldn’t see, his head fell again.  
  
“Colonel,” she repeated, “we need to get you to the hospital. Someone may be able to do something about your eyes. I heard-“ she coughed suddenly, covering her mouth with her hand. “Sorry, sir. I heard that Doctor Marcoh is still alive, so-“  
  
“Lieutenant, stop.”  
  
She shut up quickly at this, her eyes falling to her lap. She shifted uncomfortably, tying her hands in knots.  
  
“Worry about yourself. I’m not sure they can do anything for me.”  
  
“But sir, your hands, at least!”  
  
“Lieutenant, you lost more blood than anyone else, probably! I’d rather you went to the hospital than me.”  
  
“Sir, I insist-“  
  
“I can still see you, you know,” he said, his voice suddenly soft in contrast to before. “All I can see is you.”  
  
“Colonel?”  
  
“I see you, lying in that pool of blood, and I remember that I couldn’t do anything to save you!”  
  
“But sir, you did save me. By not doing anything, you managed to read my signal, you managed to figure out what was going on.”  
  
“I was useless, Lieutenant. Hawkeye. _Riza_.”  
  
She didn’t like him using her name, usually, but they’re far enough away from prying eyes and curious ears that she didn’t say anything. Instead, she rubbed her eyes, trying to prevent the tears that had been welling up from spilling over. She grabbed the grass underneath her, tearing it out in a nervous panic. Then she came to her senses, and lifted the colonel from the ground, wrapping an arm around his waist just like before, and placing her other hand reassuringly on his arm.

She dragged him to the healing tent, and sat him down. The medics grabbed him almost immediately, and it was still a few moments before Riza is seen to. She was close to passing out from the blood loss, and when she puts a hand to her neck, that she realises that the wound was bleeding again. She tried desperately to stem the flow of blood, covering her hands with the substance in the process. The pain made her pass out, with calls of her name heard vaguely in the distance.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this is short and eew but let me tell you the next one in the series will be great and long and well written i promise


End file.
